1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improvement in packaging for wound goods such as ribbons.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Previous to the present invention, packages for decorative ribbon, including other wound webs e.g., pressure sensitive adhesive tapes with a liner, tapes or labels with a water or heat activatable adhesive, bands or other products, generally included a core on which the ribbon was wound. The free end of the wound material may be taped to the outer layer of the wound material. A plurality of short lengths of ribbon may be convolutely wound in axially spaced relation along the length of a single core with each wound ribbon being secured to itself. The core and the plurality of wound ribbon may then be placed in a square paperboard package having a transparent window to permit the customer to view the contents. Other packages included spools having flanges between which are wound a length of the ribbon or tape material. The flanges serve to protect the material from unravelling or telescoping but the free end must always be secured somehow during shipment and between uses to keep the same neat.
Other prior art packages for loosely wound ribbon material include such packages as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,767,833, issued Oct. 23, 1957 to M. W. Hedin, wherein the material is wound on a core, with the core disposed within a rectangular package. This patent provides a package for only a single roll of ribbon or tape and considerable packaging material.
Other patents relating to packages for ribbon and strip material which is convolutely wound include U.S. Pat. No. 2,725,244, issued Nov. 29, 1955 to E. W. Friday. This patent shows a box for a roll of material which may not be on a core and is provided with a guide for the free end of the strip of material. The guide directs the strip of material to a dispensing opening in the corner of the package such that an amount of material may be withdrawn from the package and the free end of the roll held in position for further dispensing. This package provides a window through which one may view a portion of the ribbon just prior to it being dispensed through the dispensing opening.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,589,192, issued Mar. 11, 1952, to J. McLean Johnston, discloses a retractable ribbon dispenser which comprises a box which journals a spool which in turn journals a reel upon which ribbon is wound. This permits the reel to be rotated relative to the package. One end of a length of the ribbon is threaded between two parallel members of the package sufficient to hold the free end of the ribbon. This package permits an edge portion of one of the flanges to be exposed such that the ribbon may be rewound into the package.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,748,931, issued June 5, 1956 to J. Tayler discloses a dispensing container for a plurality of rolls of pressure-sensitive adhesive tape. As illustrated in this patent, the rolls of pressure-sensitive adhesive tape are wound on cores rotatably mounted on a tubular memer which is mounted at its ends in the end walls of the package which may be formed with a viewing window. The package is designed to provide a container for supporting, displaying and dispensing pressure-sensitive adhesive tape from a plurality of different rolls so that the user may have available a variety of different kinds of tape in varying colors, artistic designs, or widths and may select a piece of pressure-sensitive adhesive tape from any one of such rolls. Pressure-sensitive adhesive tape rolls do not easily become unwound but to avoid adjacent portions of tape becoming interengaged or stuck together, each adjacent roll is wound in the opposite direction. The material in this package and the difficulty in packaging the rolls as specified makes the package less economical.